The Staircase
by ell13
Summary: "Katherine forgot there was a staircase in the main hall of her high school. And when you try to walk down stairs you forgot existed, you fall. Tragically." High School AU. MULTI-CHAPTER!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Newsies**_**. Too bad for me.**

**A/N: So, last week, I was thinking how I hadn't written anything for Newsies in a while. Then, my mind started singing. Like, "Now is the time to seize the day!" And I was thinking, **_**Mind, what are you doing?**_ **And it answered, "Speak up, take a stand, and there's someone to write about it-that's how things get better!" Thus, this story you're about to read. I've recycled this idea about 6 times, so we'll see how it goes.**

**ATTENTION READERS: Updates will be slow from now on (please see profile for more information!).**

Katherine forgot there was a staircase in the main hall of her high school. And when you try to walk down stairs you forgot existed, you fall. Tragically.

The bell buzzed, signifying the end of the school day, and the students filed out of their classrooms, laughing, pushing, eager to get home. Amongst them, a smaller girl with curly brown hair carried a bulging backpack on her shoulders, and a mound of papers in her arms. As the crowd of teenagers bustled past her, she struggled to keep her papers from flying.

And that's where the stairs came in. Looming before the girl was the daunting, 5-step staircase that led to every student's freedom: the main entrance door. The stairs were closing in. Ten steps away. Eight. Five. Two. One.

As the girl took her next step, it landed not on level floor, but in the air. She tripped. The papers went flying. Crap.

Katherine lay on the ground, watching, as about twenty different papers that she had previously kept all in order in a neat pile, soared through the air, and landed unceremoniously on the floor, where unaware students stepped on them, leaving dirt footprints on the once pristine, white papers. She groaned in dismay. Stupid stairs.

She scrambled around, avoiding feet and legs to collect her scattered papers. She had gathered maybe two, when she heard a male's voice say, "You dropped something."

Not bothering to look around, she gritted her teeth and replied, "You don't think I didn't notice?"

The boy laughed, "You need some help with those?"

Katherine shook her head vigorously, "Just leave. You're going to miss the bus, anyway, if you help."

"Ah, and miss out helping a pretty girl like you?" the voice responded, the amusement in his tone. _Oh, so now he was flirting with her?_

Katherine sighed as she snatched another paper, "Help if you want. I don't care. But when you have to walk home in the cold, I won't take responsibility." The boy laughed again-a pleasant, resounding sound-and in seconds, kneeled down next to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katherine glanced at her helper. He had brown ruffled hair and dark eyes, and taller than her. He was handsome, but that was irrelevant.

Within a few minutes, the boy had gathered most of her papers, and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said, itching to just leave.

The boy smirked, "Hey, no problem. The name's Jack. Jack Kelly."

"Oh, um," Katherine said, "I should get going now. My parents are probably having a fit right now because I'm late."

"Okay," Jack replied, "I'll come with you." Katherine tilted her head.

"What?"

"Well, we both missed the bus, right? Now, we can just walk together. I'm sure we're heading in the same direction. What bus do you usually ride home?" Jack asked.

"Eighty-nine," Katherine answered.

Jack grinned, "Great! Same as me!" He grabbed her arm, and dragged her out the door. Katherine sighed.

"So," Jack started as they walked, "what are those papers for anyway?" He gestured to Katherine's stack of papers.

"This is my journalism assignment," she responded, picking up a couple of the papers. "And these," she picked up the rest of the papers, "are my failed attempts to complete the assignment."

Jack whistled. "Wow. What's the assignment."

She exhaled, "So, it's actually pretty simple: I have to write an article about an assigned historical event, except I have to write it as if I was actually there reporting it."

"What event did you get?"

"The Newsboy Strike of 1899," Katherine said, looking at him.

"Oh, yeah...the Newsboy Strike of 1998-"

"1899," Katherine corrected.

"Whatever. The Newsboy Strike of 1899...never heard of it!" Jack declared amiably.

Katherine laughed, "I thought you wouldn't have. Once upon a time, in this very city, there were these boys called newsboys, or _newsies_…" She explained the whole strike to Jack, who watched in utmost interest, nodding and asking questions. He seemed to like these newsie characters very much.

"Well, that was really cool and interesting," Jack breathed after she was done her history lesson, "Obviously, you know a lot about the topic. What's the problem, then?"

"I have writer's block. I don't know what to write, or the right way to write it. I don't even have a headline!"

Jack thought for a moment, before suggesting, "'_Newsies Stop the World_'."

"Hmm?" Katherine asked, lost in her own thoughts. Jack took her shoulders and turned her towards his direction.

"'_Newsies Stop the World_'. Not a bad title, eh?" he said, looking proud of himself.

Katherine's eyes widened, "Not a bad title at all! Nice use of a hyperbole, by the way."

"A what?"

"Nevermind."

So the two talked and walked without really looking where they were going, and by the time they stopped again in front of an apartment, Katherine and Jack had basically figured out the whole article.

"Um, Jack?" Katherine said, glancing at the building, "Why did you stop?"

He looked at her, puzzled, "This is my apartment."

"What? You live _here_? What floor?"

"Third."

"What room?"

"Uh, 317?"  
"No way," Katherine said, "I'm in 315! And you're not new here, are you? You've been my neighbor the whole time? I've _never_ seen you before."

"Same," Jack replied, looking honestly confused, "I don't even know your name after I just walked with you for maybe an hour."

"Oh. Katherine Plumber, nice to meet you," she introduced herself, "Well, neighbor...let's hope my parents don't kill us both for being late."

"Yup," Jack said as they climbed the stairs to the third floor, "We should do this everyday!"

**A/N. Bleeegh, I did **_**not**_ **know how to end that. Sorry readers. By the way, this IS a multi-chapter story. Meaning, more that one chapter! I'm so proud of myself. See you sometime soon. I have an idea. Also, title is liable to change. A lot. Anyway, BYE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Newsies.**

**A/N: Hi guys! So, new chapter here. Despite saying I have an idea, the idea was probably too short to fill a chapter, so...I tried. Enjoy!**

Before departing, Jack and Katherine stood in front of their apartment rooms.

¨Well, Miss Plumber, it was nice walking with you," said Jack.

Katherine smiled, ¨It was nice walking with you, too, Mr. Kelly. Thank you for your help.¨ Jack shrugged sheepishly, as if it were really no big deal.

¨See you again?¨ Katherine asked shyly, _really_ hoping he'd say yes.

Jack laughed, ¨Of course. What I said about doing this everyday...¨ He flashed a grin. ¨I meant it. Bye, Katherine.¨ Katherine waved, and Jack disappeared through the doorway. She sighed, and opened her own door.

Looking around, she inched inside, glancing at her watch. Hopefully, her parents wouldn't notice she was just a little bit late. After all, it was only two minutes, and maybe they wouldn't have came home from work yet-oh, she had to jinx herself.

Standing in the living room, with their arms crossed, were her mother and father, staring at her in utmost disapproval.

¨Katherine Plumber, you are _two minutes_ late coming home! Where in the world have you been?!¨ her mother exclaimed. Darn.

Katherine stared at them wide-eyed for a second, as her father tapped his foot impatiently.

¨Well?¨ he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Katherine let out a nervous laugh, ¨Hey, you don't need to freak, um… So, you see, I have this really big journalism assignment.¨ She gestured to the stack of papers in her hands. ¨And while I was going to the bus, I accidentally tripped on the stairs and dropped them, and so I started to pick them up and this boy came to help-¨

¨A _boy?!_¨ her parents both shouted in unison. _Uh oh. Wrong thing to say. _Really _wrong_. What could she say now to calm her parent's wrath?

¨Um,¨ Katherine stuttered, ¨it's not like that! He was just helping me collect my papers." Her mom and dad looked at her, unconvinced. ¨Uh, he's the boy from next door. Jack Kelly? He lives in 317?¨ Finally, a look of calm spread across her parents' faces.

¨Oh, our neighbors? Yes, their kid Jack is such a sweet boy!¨ her mother gushed.

¨Nice kid,¨ her father stated approvingly.

¨Wait... you've met him before?¨ Katherine questioned.

Her mother looked surprised, ¨Why, yes! The Harrisons are family friends!¨

¨Harrisons?¨ Katherine asked. Jack had told her his last name was _Kelly_. What?

¨Yes,¨ her mother replied, ¨Jack is adopted. He was orphaned at a young age. So the reason you were late was because you just dropped your papers?¨

¨Yup,¨ Katherine answered, absorbing this blast of information about her next-door neighbor she had no clue existed until about an hour ago.

¨Very well then,¨ her father said curtly, ¨You might want to start on that assignment then.¨

Katherine nodded, then rushed to her room to start typing on her computer.

¨Okay, let's begin...¨ Katherine muttered as she sat down at her desk, ¨'_Newsies Stop the World'..._¨

It took seven hours and all her sleeping time to get it done, but Katherine was sure it her best work. Ever. She beamed widely as she handed it in to her teacher, Mrs. Clarkson. Seriously, she was confident she would get an A. Or an A+. Make that an A++. This article was _that_ great. She was going to have thank Jack a couple thousand more times.

When the bell rang, Katherine excitedly dashed out of class, and peered over shoulders, standing on her toes, searching the stampede of high school students for one boy in particular: Jack Kelly. However, he was nowhere to be seen. The mass of students had mostly drifted away, and yet, Katherine could still not find him. _Maybe he didn't mean it_, she thought, _Perhaps that was a joke_. A depressing thought. Downtrodden, she walked toward the door to leave, before feeling a tap on her shoulder.

"Please go away," she muttered, "I'm not in the habit of talking to strangers."

"Well you're going to make a lousy reporter, then," a familiar voice retorted, amused.

She whipped around, "Seriously? You show up _now_? I thought I was going to miss the bus because of you."

Jack shrugged indifferently, "Whoops. Sorry. Walk with me?" He held out his arm, and only then did Katherine realize that he had replaced the T-shirt and jeans combo from yesterday with a button-up shirt and pants.

"Well, well, well," she said, "You look nice today. What's the outfit for?"

"I can dress up nicely if I want to!" Jack defended himself, until seeing Katherine's unconvinced stare, "Okay, fine, it's for some, uh, art thing. I had to present something in class, and I have to do again tonight. Some artist convention thing."

"An artist?" Katherine said, "Can I see any of your work?" Jack looked at her wide-eyed.

Katherine sighed, "Then can you draw something for me?" Jack's eyes darted around, before he answered, "Sure." He pulled out a sketchbook and some pencils, and began to trace the outline of whatever he was drawing.

In an attempt to regain his ego, Jack decided to change subjects, "So, Kat, did I hear you calling me 'nice-looking?'"

"No," Katherine said sarcastically, before continuing, "Don't get all big-headed on me, Kelly, you're not _that_ hot." _LIES!_ her mind screamed. _Shut up!_ she shouted back.

Jack smirked, "You sure about that? Aw, Katherine, you don't have to blush."

She frowned, "What?" Sure enough, her cheeks had heated up.

So she told Jack what she had told her mind a little earlier, except with a few more choice words.

"Fine, fine," he conceded, but not before adding one more, "Are you sure?" Katherine elbowed him forcefully, and finally, Jack stopped.

Halfway through their journey to home, Jack finished his drawing. His hand rest against the paper, smoothing it out.

"You're done?" Katherine asked. He nodded. "May I see it?" This time, he didn't nod, just stared.

"Jack," she insisted, "just show me the drawing, please." Reluctantly, he handed over the sketchbook, and Katherine gaped at what he had drawn.

It was a girl. It was her.

"You drew me?" Katherine asked, a little flattered.

Jack smiled slightly, "Well you're an obvious model candidate. I very much enjoy drawing beautiful things, and you definitely qualify. You can keep it."

Katherine tried to resist the blush that was probably emerging, "Um, thank you. Ugh, but you made me looks so perfect!"

Jack grinned knowingly, "That's because you _are_ perfect, Katherine.¨

Back at their apartment once more, the two separated, and this time, Katherine's mom was at the door, waiting for her.

"He's quite handsome, isn't he?" her mom said, raising her eyebrows at Katherine.

"He is indeed," Katherine admitted, thinking about her day, ¨But don't tell him I said that.¨ She walked into her room, closing the door behind her.

¨Not yet.¨

**A/N: Yay! I did it! I just realized that this chapter spans from an afternoon to the next afternoon. That's, like, a day. Anyway, reviews are not mandatory, but super-extremely enjoyed. If you have something to comment on, or if you have any corrections, constructive criticism, etc., feel free to tell me! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Newsies**_**. **

**A/N: Hi! As a request from theater104, this chapter is in Jack's POV, and it takes place during the afternoon of the second day, like, just after they parted. Let's begin, then!**

Jack closed the door behind him, a ridiculous grin already forming on his face. He swore, that girl would be the end of him someday.

His mother stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of something, when she finally noticed him standing there.

"Oh, hi Jack, how was school?" she asked kindly. Well, she was always kind. She was awesome like that.

"Fine, I guess," he answered, shrugging, "School's never too great, you know."

"Well, okay then," his mom laughed as he made his way to his room, "Remember to do your homework!" He saluted her, and shut himself in his room.

Instead of doing said homework, Jack instead decided to call his friend, Davey. Math homework could wait. He dialed the number, each digit making a different beeping noise as he pressed the buttons. The phone rang once, twice, three times, until he picked up.

"What's up, Jack?" Davey answered, "Don't you have homework or something?"

Knowing that Davey would never talk to him unless he knew that Jack had completed every last assignment, Jack lied, "Uh, I finished it during school."

"Okay. What do you want?"

"I met this girl," Jack started, but was quickly interrupted by a groan.

"Oh, not this again," the voice on the other end complained tiredly.

"What?" Jack questioned, puzzled.

"You know what," Davey snapped, "You call me, and it's like 'I met this girl,' and you waste an hour of my time talking about how she's 'so beautiful' and 'absolutely genius' and that you're 'gonna marry her someday.' Then you call me a week later, and you start talking about a totally different girl."

"I do not!" Jack countered indignantly, "Like, not every week."

"Really?"

"Only once a month." Jack protested.

"How about twice a month?" Davey quipped.

Jack pouted, "Well, it's not my fault that all the girls at our school are very pretty! Plus, I've been doing well this year! I haven't called you to discuss girls for a month and a half!"

"Oh, good job, Jack," Davey responded dryly, "Big improvement. I'm proud."

"Can I just get back to what I was saying then?" Jack asked impatiently.

"As you wish," Davey sighed, "Shoot."

"Okay, so her name is Katherine Plumber," Jack began.

"Katherine? She's in my AP Calculus class," Davey interrupted. Jack tried to glare at him through the phone for butting in, but apparently that didn't quite work.

As Jack continued to glare at him, silence continued on, and Davey called, "Hello?"

"I'm still here."

"What happened? You went all silent for a moment."  
"Uh, nothing. Anyway, I met her a while back because she dropped some papers after dismissal, so I helped her pick them up and we walked home together. She talked about this one journalism assignment which she didn't know how to write, so I tried to help her with it. And then we decided to just walk home together from now on, so yeah."

"A while back?" Davey asked.

"Two days ago."

Davey whistled, "Wow. Would never have guessed. As you probably noticed with your time with her, Katherine's not exactly the type to fall for cheap flirting and love at first sight. I'm surprised she didn't punch you and tell you to leave."

"She actually did tell me to leave."

"Still," Davey said, "It's amazing."

"Maybe she was charmed by my dashing good looks," Jack suggested with a smirk.

"What looks?" Davey retorted with a snort.

Jack acted offended, "Well, Davey, that's mean. I thought you were my friend."

"When did I say that? Oh. Wait. Sorry, Jack, I have to go. Les is telling me he has a date with...Les, stop it! Uh, I have to go. See you later." And with that, Davey hung up.

Jack sighed, "Well, I guess I have to do my homework now."

About an hour before Jack's artist convention, it was dinnertime and Jack was delighted to see that his dad was home early. It wasn't often that his father came back before 7:00 because of heavy traffic around their area.

As they ate, his parents decided to do the daily round of interrogation.

"So Jack," his mom said, wiggling her eyebrows, "Who's that girl you were talking to?"

"A friend," he answered slowly.

"Just a friend?" his dad asked.

"She is really pretty, isn't she?" his mom grinned.

"Uh, yeah." Jack shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He didn't like it when his parents tried to play matchmaker, even if they paired him up with a girl he liked.

"So, what's her name?" his father probed.

"Katherine…"

"When did you meet her?"

"About two days ago."

"Does she like you?"

"What?"

"Are you two dating?"

"No!"

"Does she have a boyfriend yet?"

"Uh…"

It went back and forth like this for a while, until Jack glanced at the clock and figured he could make an excuse now.

"Well look at the time!" he stated loudly, "I should really start preparing for the convention now." With that, he steered out of the room to avoid any more parent-child awkwardness. After all, he was a teenager, and _everything_ his parents did now seemed embarrassing.

He shut the door to his room, fixed his hair and his tie in the mirror. He stared at his reflection. He inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Okay. Let's do this."

**Author's Note: Reviews are treated like unicorns, so please review! I would appreciate them very much. BTW, I ****WILL** **for sure update on 2/14 ('cause it's Valentine's Day) and on 2/16 because it's _'s birthday. This person has things to do with **_**Newsies**_**. If anyone can guess who, you can get an honorable mention in all caps, in bold, italics, AND underlined on the next chapter. If not, I'll tell you. BYE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still don't own **_**Newsies**_**.**

**A/N: And the winner is...**_**K KELLY!**_ **The question of the last chapter was who's birthday is it going to be on February 16th, and K Kelly correctly answered Kara Lindsay! YAY! So, sorry I'm updating as Valentine's Day is coming to a close; I had stuff to do. Also, I will NOT be writing about the art convention thing. I do doodle, but I'm not an artist, and I don't know the first thing about conventions or high school. Sorry. Let's go!**

Katherine decided if the torture ever ended, she would _never, ever_ try to like someone _ever _again. It was a painful thing. The whole day, all she could think about was Jack. When she was doing her homework, she thought about Jack. When she was having dinner, she thought about Jack. When her parents were saying that she was probably thinking of Jack at dinner, she was thinking of Jack. Finally, when she was supposed to be sleeping, she instead gazed at the ceiling. And thought about Jack. She _really_ wanted to just kill someone (including Jack) now. She didn't even want to think about the boy she had only met just two days ago. It annoyed the heck out of her. She didn't want to fall in love. She wanted it to stop. Like, now.

However, Katherine was a mostly nice girl, and she while she wasn't the kind of girl to be wooed with a few sugary words, she also wasn't the kind of girl to ditch a kind of sort of friend after a couple days.

Oh, the dilemma.

Most of the thinking about Jack was contemplating her feelings about him. Did she like him? Probably. Would she want to pursue a relationship? Yes. Would she pursue a relationship with him? Uh, I don't think so. For all she knew, he could already have somebody to love. She tried not to think about that.

"Too much thinking," she groaned as she flopped back onto her bed. Sadly, it was the weekend, and with nothing to do, she had _too_ much spare time to think about J-no, she wasn't even going to think his name. Not this time!

But of course she thought about it, and the cycle started over again.

_I wonder if he misses me_, she mused, tapping her chin with a pencil. _I miss him. I need someone to talk to._ Then, she thought, _NO! Stop thinking! It's dangerous!_

So, to distract her thoughts, she opened up a notebook and began weaving a story. Journalism may be Katherine's thing, but occasionally, she had to take a break and write some enjoyable fiction.

For about two hours, she was doing fine. The story flowed from her pencil to the page as the plot and the characters began to build. _Good job, Katherine_, she mentally praised herself, _This here is some good writing_. Ideas were popping into her head one after another: a clever way to word this, and a plot twist over there, and maybe a new character! She added all of these, but once she added the new character, things started to go wrong.

Deep in the back of her mind, Katherine must have still been thinking about a certain boy subconsciously, because as she began to introduce this character, he didn't end up being the person Katherine had planned. The character was written like Jack.

In realization at what she had done, Katherine flung her pencil across the room.

"Dang."

Needless to say, everyone was _extremely _impressed with Jack's artwork. There were even a couple critics from universities and stuff, and even they complimented Jack on his art. Naturally, Jack was ecstatic. Maybe he could, like, get a scholarship or something into a fine college, and make his parents proud. Especially his mom. His mom would love that.

"I can't wait to tell Kath-" he told himself before pausing. There was that name again. _Katherine_. Since yesterday, that single name had been plaguing his mind. _Katherine Plumber_. Even his parents seemed to pick up on his Katherine-centered behavior.

"My, my," his mom had said, "Someone has a crush on Miss Plumber, hmm? It's been 'Katherine' this and 'Katherine' that all day, Jack!" Jack realized she was right.

Meanwhile, he also thought about what Davey had said when Jack called him yesterday. He said that Jack usually fell for a girl every week, give or take. And, fine, Jack would admit Davey was also correct. But he never recalled being _this _hung up on a girl after just meeting her. He was _the _Jack Kelly! He was never supposed to fall this hard.

He was sure of one thing: he _did_ like Katherine Plumber. Whether she like him or not, he had no clue. And only time could tell how long the feelings would last…

Jack hit his head against the wall. All this stress over one girl didn't seem like it was worth it. But yet, all he could think about was her. He thought about where she was, or if she wanted to talk to him as much as he wanted to talk to her.

_Oh, don't be a sap_, Jack snapped at himself angrily. _I just need something to draw._

He whipped out his sketchbook and slammed it down onto his desk, and immediately began to work, sketching lines with his pencil vigorously. He drew all through the night.

It was about midnight, and Mrs. Harrison **(In case you forgot, Mrs. Harrison is Jack's mother. She has a different last name because Jack's parents are adoptive) **saw that her son Jack's bedroom light was still on. Quietly, she crept up to his room, where the door was ajar. She peeked her head in.

"Sweetie, are you-?" she paused when she saw Jack.

The boy lay sleeping on his desk, having passed out there. His head rested on his arms, and in his hand was a pencil. Under his arms was his sketchbook. _He must have been drawing something_, Mrs. Harrison realized. Unable to resist her curiosity, she carefully removed the sketchbook.

The drawing was of a beautiful girl with curly brown hair. It was titled, "Katherine."

**A/N: I FINISHED! Geez, this writing gig is hard. Reviews are totally optional but totally appreciated. Reviews show me that you believe in me, and according to what we learned from **_**Something to Believe In**_**, I will believe in you, and I will believe in you believing in me, and we will all believe in each other, and I will believe in myself, which equals me updating sooner. Don't ask me how that works. THANK YOU!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies.**

**A/N: Happy 30th Birthday, Kara Lindsay! YAAAAAAAAY! So, I promised to update today, so...yeah. I have no clue what to ****write. But I shall try!**

Katherine had never been so glad to see Monday come.

She slammed her her hand down on her screeching alarm clock, and reluctantly dragged herself from the warmth of her bed. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair and all that other boring morning stuff, then threw on some clothes and a jacket **(Did I forget to mention in the first chapter that this takes place in the middle of winter, halfway through the school year? No? Whoops.).**

Katherine lugged her backpack along the floor to the living room. Venturing into the kitchen, she snatched a blueberry muffin, and actually ate breakfast. When it was 7:00, she tossed a farewell to her mother who had passed out on the couch last night, and ran out the door, where the bus was already waiting down the street.

Even with several layers of clothing, Katherine was still shivering from the chilliness in the air. The bus, when she got in, didn't provide much more heat. She climbed into her regular seat near the front of the bus, where she sat alone everyday, usually talking to herself or reading.

This is why it surprised her when a figure moved in next to her.

"Hello miss," Jack greeted, a smirk evident in his voice before Katherine even turned around to look at him.

"Oh!" Katherine exclaimed, startled at his unexpected appearance, "Hello. I forgot you were on my bus, ha."

"So did I," Jack admitted, "Then I saw you walk in, and decided that I'd say hi to my favorite girl." He put heavy emphasis on the word "favorite."

"Oh, please. Don't make me laugh," Katherine scoffed, "You've only known me less than a week."

Jack feigned a look of hurt, "It's such a shame that you doubt me, Miss Plumber." Then, he continued to smile. "By the way, have you got back your grade for your journalism assignment yet?"

Katherine paused for a moment, then grinned widely, "Yes! I aced it! One hundred percent! A-plus!"

The bus came to a stop now as the school came into view. The students filed out the aisle.

As they walked out, Jack clapped proudly, "Good job! And, by the way, you're welcome."

"Oh, you cheeky boy," Katherine said with an eye-roll, "Thanks, though."

"Anything for you, my dear," Jack responded with a wink.

TIME SKIP!

"Maybe he might just like me after all," Katherine whispered dreamily to herself as she sat on the steps as she waited for Jack to come along at the end of the school day. After all, he flirted quite a bit, as well as complimented her looks several times. Plus, he was the only one in the entire school who insisted on knowing her and tried to become her friend. So, there was some slight chance…

Katherine sighed. She was certain that she liked him now. Honestly, she kind of hated herself for it, as she always despised the idea of 'love at first sight' when her parents read her fairy tales and such as a little kid, and now she was just being a hypocrite. But how could she know that she would grow to like some boy she had met totally on accident?

Or had it been fate? She didn't want to think about it.

Finally, she saw Jack appearing from the crowd, waving wildly.

"Hey Kat!" Jack greeted.

Katherine stood up and brushed off the invisible dust on her pants, "Hey Jack. About time you came, before I drowned myself with thoughts."

"Aww, thinking about me, Katherine?" Jack cooed. Actually, yes, Katherine said mentally.

"I have other things to think about besides friends," Katherine lied, adding in an eye-roll for extra emphasis.

A peculiar look passed over Jack's face as she said the word "friend." It looked melancholy, a little disappointed. But as quickly as it came, it was replaced by Jack's signature smirk.

"Whatever you say," Jack said in an unconvinced tone, "Don't come knocking when you've decided that you're head-over-heels in love with me." Katherine nearly winced at that unexpected comment.

"Zip it, Kelly," she snapped.

"Admit it!" Jack sang.

Exasperated, Katherine held a hand up, "Dude...no."

Jack simply laughed.

"Can we go home now?" Katherine asked irately, tapping her foot.

"Okay, okay, I'm done."

"You had better be."

Another TIME SKIP!

As much as Katherine was grateful for Monday to come, they had a day off the next day. Which meant she would have nothing. Which meant she would have more time to think. Which mean she would have more time to think about Jack. And right now, she was getting pretty exhausted of thinking about him.

They came to a halt in front of their doors once more.

"Well, I'll see you on Wednesday, then?" Katherine asked awkwardly.

"I guess," Jack chuckled, "Wait...actually..."

He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and with a pencil that was also conveniently located in his pocket, he scribbled down a series of numbers, and handed the paper to Katherine, who stared at it blankly.

"My phone number," Jack clarified, and Katherine used all her willpower to not squeal in absolute delight_. Oh my god, I just got his phone number!_

"Oh!" she answered excitedly, and tore off a section of the paper to write her own number. She passed it to the boy. "And here's mine."

Jack smiled, "I'll contact you sometime tomorrow, 'kay?"

"I can't wait," Katherine beamed.

**A/N: Ughhhhh, the crappiness of the ending and just the whole chapter in general is unbearable! I was rushing, sorry, to finish it before today ended. Sorry I'm updating so late. Happy Birthday again to Kara Lindsay! BTW...all in favor of Jack and Katherine going on a coffee date next chapter?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Newsies **_**and shtuff.**

**A/N: Guys! I'm, like, BACK! I promise you a chapter and then make you wait two months. Haha, I was lazy. ANYWAY, I have a poll on my profile thing. It's about this story, and I need your opinion, dearest readers. It would be WONDERFUL if you took it. So, the long awaited chapter...awaits. Get ready for plot hole confusion galore, dear reader.**

"Hello? Katherine speaking."

Katherine had woken up at 5:30 in the morning to the sound of her phone's obnoxious, incessant ringing.

"Uh, are you okay? You sound really sick," a voice responded.

Katherine's frowned, "Um...Thanks. Er, who is this?"

An amused laugh could be heard, "This is Jack."

Katherine blinked a couple times, her expression blank, until she remembered who the heck this "Jack" character was and why he had her number and why he was calling her.

"Oh." Katherine replied lamely, "I knew that. For your information, I am not sick. I'm just really exhausted right now because _who in the right mind calls people at nine-thirty in the morning on a day off?!_"

"Well, someone's in a grouchy mood today. Nine-thirty isn't even late!" Jack mused.

"I literally fell asleep only two hours ago!" Katherine growled, "Leave me alone until-I don't know-like, ten!"

"...Like, ten in the morning? In half an hour?" Jack asked.

"No, idiot," Katherine with an eye-roll, her tone dead-serious, "Ten at night. I need my sleep." There was a long silence as Jack contemplated why _anyone_ would need 14 and a half hours of sleep.

"If you're not going to say anything, get off the line," Katherine snapped.

"Fine, fine!" Jack protested, "I just wanted to make an offer to you, but since you seem to be occupied..." He drifted off in suspense, and Katherine narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What kind of proposal would this be?" Katherine questioned.

"Well, you know, I'm out on the streets already and I kind of had the whole day planned out for us: two good chums going to get some coffee, that kind of nice stuff, but since you're busy sleeping, I'd rather not bother you and-" **(OMG, run-on sentence. HOW DARE THEE, JACK!)**

Katherine quickly cut him off, "Okay, okay. So, when should I be ready?"

"I knew you would agree." Jack replied condescendingly, "How about... uh, could you meet me at, like, 10:30? At _{insert café name here}._ Sound good to you?" **(Yes, I really just did the {insert name here} thing. I am NOT sending them to Starbucks.)**

"Yup!" Katherine responded enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm glad you're so eager to see me again," Jack teased, and before Katherine could make a rude remark or five, he hung up.

"Why, that little son of a…" Katherine muttered to herself, placing her phone back on her nightstand.

_Well, I have to get up now I guess_, she thought. Katherine crawled out of bed, and within seven minutes or so, she had gotten dressed and was ready for the day. But...there were still fifty-three minutes left to kill. Well, minus getting there, maybe forty-two minutes. Katherine shrugged, _Maybe I'll just arrive early._

She tugged on her coat and creeped quietly, ducking behind walls and all that lame stuff. Slowly, Katherine wrenched opened her front door, wincing at it made a loud creak. Quickly, she looked over her shoulder to see if her mom and dad had woken up. Nothing. Good.

She was only halfway out the door when a voice stopped her.

"Well then," her mother called slyly, leaning against the wall behind Katherine, "Where would you be sneaking off to now?"

Dang it. Caught.

Katherine stopped herself from biting her lip. That would be a clear giveaway. She only had seconds, probably less, to think of a valid reason. Fortunately for her, her brain actually shot out some ideas for her.

"I need to see Miss Terelize **(name I kind of made up)** next door. I have, like, no inspiration for writing my story that I've been working on lately," Katherine replied in an even, pretty convincing tone, "I'm just heading over there for a couple hours."

Her mother raised an eyebrow, "Oh? My apologies then, sweetie. I could've sworn that you were going to see your friend _Jack_. But since that's not true, I guess you may leave." The exaggeration in her mother's words let Katherine know that despite her efforts, her mother had already figured out what was happening. Oh, she was too good.

Her mom waved and continued in that fake voice, "Tell Terelize I said hi!"

"No need to keep up the act, Mom," Katherine murmured with an eyeroll, but nevertheless waved back to her mom with a slight smile.

**TIME SKIP :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)**

Jack was strolling down the streets of Manhattan with his hands in his pockets. He had just asked Katherine out-well, not on a _date_, but a...kind of sort of get-together thing. He gazed up at all the tall buildings which shadowed the street, and wondered if this should be the inspiration for another drawing. Or he could always bother Katherine, of course. Drawing Katherine, even after knowing her for only a few days, had quickly become one of Jack's favorite things, right after drawing Santa Fe.

Jack sighed. _Santa Fe_. Someday, Jack swore, he would get out of New York and move out west to Santa Fe. It was his biggest dream ever.

A tap on Jack's shoulder shook him out of his reverie.

"Boo!"

Sad to say, Jack yelped quite embarrassingly, and turned to find a evilly cackling Katherine dying from laughter.

Tears formed in her eyes as she chuckled and gasped, "Did you hear yourself, Jack? You sounded like-like...a chihuahua!" She made a little high-pitched squeaking noise, imitating Jack's reaction, then burst into laughter once more.

"Was it really _that_ funny?" Jack frowned, his sense of dignity ruined.

"YES!" Katherine exclaimed, grinning, turning some heads, as she practically yelled the answer. Many passerby stopped to glare at the girl, but she paid them no attention.

Finally, have five more long, mortifying minutes, Katherine's sniggering died down to a soft giggle.

"You done now?" Jack asked impatiently.

Katherine held a hand up, "Wait…" She let out one more loud giggle, then smiled and nodded. "Ready."

Jack gave a lopsided smile, "Well...let's go!" He ran down the street, leaving his friend behind.

Katherine, still a bit out of breath from her laughing fit, pouted, "H-hey! Wait up!" She dashed off after him.

**MORE TIME SKIP!**

Jack and Katherine literally tripped into {insert cafe name here}, bursting through the door, then noisily crashing to the floor, laughing like five-year-olds. The whole cafe stopped to stare in disgust, amusement, or whatever at the the pair.

After awkwardly giggling on the ground for a while, the two finally picked themselves up. They straightened their clothes, cleared their throat, and went up to order some coffee.

**MORE TIME SKIP! TIME SKIP EVERYWHERE!**

"Well this is...soothing?" Katherine said, trying to break the silence while sipping her coffee.

"Uh, yeah." Jack replied.

"So."

"So."

They sat like that for a while more. Katherine looked out the window, while Jack pretended to be _extremely_ fascinated with the tabletop.

"_Soooooooo_," Jack said this time. Katherine turned to face him.

Jack smiled cheekily, "Is this a date?"

Katherine gave him a death glare, "It depends on if you want to keep your face the way it is." **(THREATENING IS NOT NICE, KIDDIES!)**

Jack looked at her horrified, "Nevermind then. How's the family?"

"Good," Katherine said, "Yours?"

"Good," Jack replied, "You know, now that I think of it, I've actually met your parents a while ago, but I haven't met you until-well, you know-a couple days ago."

"Oh, yeah," Katherine recalled, "My parents did say they met you. Yeah, I think when they went to meet you, like, years ago, they said, 'Come on Katherine, let's go meet the new neighbors. They have a boy about your age. And I said, 'I don't want to meet the new boy! He's probably, like, really annoying and ugly and I'll hate him! Can't I just stay here and finish my picture?' I was playing with crayons at the time." Katherine smiled at the memory.

Jack chuckled, "Wow. Anyway, you look back on it now after you've actually met me, and you realize…" He made a gesture with his hand, cueing Katherine to finish his sentence.

"I realized that I was right, because you _are_ really annoying and ugly and I hate you." Katherine joked.

Jack looked offended, "Um, no. You were supposed to say, '_Oh Jack, without you my life would be empty and boring! I'm so glad that fate brought us together!'_" Katherine buried her face into her hands.

"No…"

**TIME SKIP!**

Long past the point when their caffeinated beverages had turned cold and rather unpleasant, Katherine and Jack were still chatting at their table. For nearly three hours, they conversed about art, writing, school, family, hopes and dreams. For the first time, they took the time to really get to know each other, and as they got lost in conversation, time breezed by.

As she took another sip of cold coffee, Katherine glanced at her watch, "I think I'd better go. It's nearly twelve. Thanks for the coffee. I really enjoyed this."

Jack whined, "Aww, you're really going to leave me here make me pay for your coffee?"  
"You were the one who invited me here. It would be a logical assumption to think that you'd be paying for whatever," Katherine replied with a raised eyebrow, "Plus, is that any way to treat a girl on her first date?"

Jack's thoughts: _Wait, WHAT?!_

The boy gaped, "But you said earlier-wait...what-why-what is... What?"

Katherine smirked, and rose from her seat. Has she headed towards the door, she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"See you later, Jack!" Katherine called, giving him a small wave before she disappeared through the door.

Jack face was florid as he sat there in awe.

It had been minutes later before he finally said:

"What was that?"

**A/N: I hope that at least moderately met your expectations. And, wow, Katherine's being bold this chapter, even though she was totally confused in the last. Welcome to the world of my sloppy, plot hole-filled writing. Anyway, PLEASE TAKE THE POLL THING and reviews are nice so I can get some ideas. THANK YOU!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Newsies.**_

**A/N: By the way, my dear reader who is...reading this, I really love you, because YOU put up with my sporadic, terrible updating habits and for that, you are the GREATEST! Also, to those who review and follow and favorite, you guys are my light. For me, it's always encouraging to look back at what people have said while writing. Thank you.**

The rest of the week was absolute awkward torture for Jack. Every time he ran into Katherine (which was a lot, since he had made a promise to walk home from school with her _every day_ and was also her next-door neighbor), he felt like crawling into a hole and dying. Did she like him or not? After all, she _had _kissed him...but on the cheek, like in a friendly manner, which boggled up the definite answer by a lot.

In his anxiety, he even asked Davey for advice, which turned out to be a not-so-great idea.

"_Just ask her if she likes you," his friend advised, giving Jack a look that said _isn't-that-so-obvious-gosh-you're-dense.

_Jack responded, "Aghhh, you can't just walk up to a person and ask them if they like you!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_You wouldn't understand! And if the answer's so obvious, how come I don't see you with a girlfriend?!" Jack ranted._

"_I don't need a girlfriend. I have my brother to take care of," Davey answered smugly. Jack groaned again._

And so, the whole situation remained unsolved to Jack.

Perhaps the worst part of it all was that Katherine remained totally oblivious to Jack's discomfort. When next he saw her, on the morning after their whatever it was over coffee, she was just extremely cheerful and it was as if nothing happened.

Now, it was Friday, and Jack was sitting in class during the last period of the day, musing over the last couple days. _Maybe, since she was acting like nothing ever happened at all, that means she thinks nothing _did _happen, _Jack thought to himself. _Is that a sign?_

Then, a tap on the shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Psst, Jack! Pay attention!" Davey scolded him, who was seated behind him, "You're over-thinking the whole thing, so forget it!"

Jack looked around to make sure the teacher's attention was not on them, then turned around to face his friend, "Hey, it's just troubling, okay? Right now, we're only friends, and I don't wanna ruin the relationship, and-"

"Stop it," Davey snapped, "You won't ruin your friendship."

Jack scoffed, "Don't try to reassure me, you couldn't know whether it would or not."  
"Oh, but I _would_," Davey countered proudly, "I asked her myself."

There was a screeching halt in their conversation as Jack considered David's words. The tension seemed extremely palpable. They both stared at each other, not blinking. As the dismissal bell rang, they still sat there, staring.

Finally, "You _what?!_"

"Oh, whoops, I was planning on telling you later when you finally found the guts to just ask her."

"Why would you do that?!" Jack wailed in dismay, shoving his face into his palms and slumping down onto his desk.

Davey shrugged, "I don't know! We were just working together in class one day and then were were just talking and, I don't know, you came up and...yeah."

"Wh-what did she say?" asked Jack frantically.

"You need to find out by yourself, Jack."  
"Davey, don't do this to me! _Please_."

Davey sighed, then got up from his seat, "Come on, let's go. I'm going to be late."  
Jack reluctantly got up. Then, realization flickered in his eyes.

"Dang it!" he yelled in frustration, "I have to walk back with Katherine now! Look what you did, Davey!"

"Whoops."

* * *

Jack took in a deep breath as he walked toward Katherine. He ran a hand through his hair, put on his regular confident facade, and went to greet her.

"Hey, Katherine," he called with a somewhat forced smirk.

"You're smirking," the girl noted with a smile.

Jack frowned, "What about it?"

"I haven't seen you smirk since Tuesday," she replied, then laughed, "It was getting concerning. I was wondering if you were sick or something." _So she did notice_, Jack thought.

"No, I wasn't sick," he said, "Just...stressed...about school, you know?"

Katherine laughed again, blowing some loose strands of hair away from her face, "I know, right? Even with the weekend break, I'm not sure I'll be able to finish my homework until maybe Sunday night! I was talking to Davey about it, and he agreed." _That's not the only you talked about with Davey, _thought Jack in a disgruntled manner.

Abruptly, Katherine's animated expression turned into a frown, "What's wrong. You're all grumpy all of sudden."

"Oh, i-it's nothing," Jack answered hastily, shoving his hands into his pockets. As Katherine hesitantly continued her talk, with Jack only kind-of listening, Jack started to think about Davey's advice. _Just ask her if she likes you. You won't ruin your friendship._ Maybe...maybe he could just give it a try.

When they reached their apartment complex, Jack quickly composed himself, and turned to Katherine.

"Hey Katherine, I heard something from Davey that I want to ask you about…"

**A/N. Whoops, short chapter. I could write the next part, but I have some more stories to update. I wanted to do this one first since it's been...gosh, it's been more than 3 months. Sorry about that. Anyway, I'll probably get them together soon, maybe even the next chapter. THANKS FOR READING!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Newsies**_ **or anything you recognize.**

**A/N: Ha, I meant to update last, last, last week or something, but writing the last chapter was sooooo weird and putting off things (especially writing) is my hobby. Also, I have some responses to reviews this time.**

**Daughter of Terpsichore: I've been meaning to thank you for your stream of reviews. Your reviews were actually the thing that reminded me that I had this fanfic (whoops) and motivated me to update this story again, since I'd been gone for so long. Thanks! (And actually, I was going have Jack ask something like "Do you like kittens?" first, but...I changed my mind. He was annoying me too.)**

**Ava-Potter gal: Cheesy is my jam, girl! :) Thanks for the review!**

**And to everyone who's ever read, favorited, followed, or reviewed: THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

Katherine frowned, "Oh? Uh, okay." She gritted her teeth, trying to remember what she had said to Davey recently? Did she even see him today? Thinking it through, Katherine remembered seeing him in class today, but she hadn't spoke to him. Was it something from earlier? She glanced back at Jack, who looked extremely uncomfortable.

"How...would you feel...if we were..._more_ than just friends?" he questioned, unexpectedly.

Katherine suddenly felt warm. _Why...would he ask that?_ Unsure, she looked up at Jack again. That was a mistake. Jack was staring directly into her eyes. Quickly, she averted her gaze. Geez, the tension was bothering the heck out of her. Annoying Jack and his annoying staring. She felt her eye twitching. Who stares people down like that? Staring makes people really self-conscious, didn't he know?!

"Why are you asking this, out of the blue?" Katherine questioned, changing the subject.

Jack seemed to try for a smirk, then decided against it. He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"What if I said that I liked you?" he replied after a slight pause. He laughed dryly, "What if I liked you, Katherine Plumber?" _So that's what it was_…

* * *

_Two days ago…_

"_Ha!" Katherine exclaimed in triumph, "We're done!" She slumped down in her seat, wearing a satisfied smile._

_Davey checked his watch, "There's still 10 minutes left of class."_

"_Well, I'm going to relax," Katherine stated, "No homework for me today!"_

"_What?" Davey asked in disbelief, "I can't believe it! He's never drew for me, much less __**drew **__me!" Katherine laughed._

"_Oh, he probably has plenty drawings of you, but is too shy to show you," Katherine reassured him._

"_Haha, Jack Kelly being shy? Please," Davey said._

"_Well, I'll tell you a secret. I...kind of...took one of his sketchbooks this one time."_

"_How?" Davey questioned, incredulous._

"_Long story. Anyway, he draws, like, everything. I think he might be a softie inside. I found a sketch of __**kittens**__. Fluffy, adorable kittens. And another one is of his parents, smiling and holding hands, and a little girl with an ice cream cone...it's endearing, really."_

"_Excuse me for this," Davey interrupted, "but do you like Jack? As in, do you like him in a more-than-friends way?"_

"_What?" Katherine exclaimed._

"_Oh gosh, I sound like such a gossip," Davey groaned, "Sorry for asking, but my friend is absolutely hopeless, so I'm doing him a favor."_

"_What does that mean?" Katherine questioned, bemused by the boy's vagueness. "And, well, I-"_

_Davey cut her off with a wave of his hand, "It's okay, I already got the answer I needed."  
_ "_But I didn't even say anything yet-" she started._

_He smiled knowingly, "I can tell by your expression." The bell rang, and Davey stood up, said good-bye, and walked out._

"_Wait, so was my expression a 'yes' or 'no?'" Katherine called out after him, but he didn't respond._

* * *

Thinking back to that conversation, Katherine now knew the answer to Davey's question herself.

Jack had turned his back to her, frowning at the ground. Slowly, she took a step towards him. And then another. Now, they were only a couple feet apart, and Katherine-almost cautiously-put her arms around him in a hug.

"Well, what if I said that I liked you too?" Katherine finally replied in a quiet tone.

She felt Jack's hand place itself over hers. Jack turned around to smile at her.

"Then I'd be the happiest guy around."

They stood together like this in contented silence, as the first spring rains began to approach.

**Welp, that didn't make sense at all. I mean, a few chapters ago (about two weeks in the plot) , it was in the midst of winter and now it's spring? Also, SORRY FOR THE SHORTEST CHAPTER EVER! I really should've combined this one and the chapter. Or actually fitted this story with a decent plot (I literally only had ideas for the first, last, and a random middle chapter, along with an epilogue). Maybe I should just end the story here (or soon)? Well, tell me what you think, guys. I hoped you enjoyed this very cheesy, very corny (and OOC) chapter!**


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